The federal government’s target of a $1 trillion economy may not be realised if the current spate of insecurity in the country persists. The only way out is for the security agencies to expedite action and ensure that the bandits and other criminal elements terrorizing the country are defeated. President Bola Tinubu stated this much while addressing security chiefs and heads of intelligence agencies at a recent presidential security briefing at the State House, Abuja.
According to the President, while progress is being made with the elimination of some security threats in different parts of the country, success will ultimately be defined by the final elimination of threats of insecurity on the citizens. He decried the challenge of insecurity against the government’s targeted growth of the economy.
“We have too many investments that we need to make now in soft and physical infrastructure, in social security, in Micro, Small and Medium scale Enterprises (MSME) empowerment, and other growth enablers. We are pursuing a $1 trillion economy in the next few years, and our efforts will be undermined if we do not finally wrap up our progressive onslaught against enemies of progress”, Tinubu stated.
The president also emphasised that the armed forces must deliver on his objective to ensure that the nation achieves a sustainable production of two million barrels of crude oil per day, including condensates, within the first quarter of 2024.
Tinubu’s remarks came on a day terrorists killed at least 17 people and kidnapped 58 others in three communities in Kauru Local Government Area of Kaduna State; and suspected Boko Haram members killed a pastor of the Church of Christ In Nations (COCIN) in Kwari, Geidam Local Government Area of Yobe State in a fresh wave of banditry in parts of the country.
Similarly, some bandits struck in Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), abducting seven members of a family and killing a policeman. The mayhem underscored the worrying insecurity in Abuja and other parts of the country.
No doubt, insecurity has become a present danger to Nigerians and its economy. Projections on the country’s economy by experts and international agencies are not exciting. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its ‘World Economic Outlook Update: Near-Term Resilience, Persistent Challenges (July 2023)’ report, had projected that Nigeria’s economic growth would decline in 2023 and 2024 due to security issues in the oil sector. It stated that the country’s economy would grow at 3.2 per cent in 2023, before declining to 3.0 per cent in 2024.
The IMF said, “In sub-Saharan Africa, growth is projected to decline to 3.5 per cent in 2023 before picking up to 4.1 per cent in 2024. Growth in Nigeria in 2023 and 2024 is projected to gradually decline, in line with April projections, reflecting security issues in the oil sector.”
The impacts of insecurity, corruption and other hostile business factors are already being felt as more than 15 multinational firms have left Nigeria in the past three years, according to data from the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA).
For instance, Procter & Gamble (P&G), a major global player in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) segment and Equinor, another global player in the upstream oil sector have left, citing unfriendly business environment and posting an expected loss of $335 million (about N310billion) in Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) to the economy.
The estimated N310billion represents the combined assets value of the two business giants. In 2023, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Sanofi-Aventis Nigeria Limited, left the country and pulled out assets estimated at over $800 million from Nigeria, citing harsh operating environment.
In other parts of the country, insecurity has disrupted economic and social life of the people. In the North-Central zone, farmers can no longer go to farms due to insecurity. This has resulted to scarcity of food items and rising cost of local foods. Insecurity has greatly reduced the inflow of foreign direct investments. As many companies are leaving the country, more workers are losing their jobs and more citizens are entering the poverty net.
The situation cannot be allowed to continue. It is not enough for the President to bemoan the dangers of insecurity on the nation’s economy. Something drastic needs to be done to contain the menace. Security agencies should be encouraged and mobilised to crush those behind the rising insecurity. Let the directive by the president on the armed forces be matched with commensurate action. The primary function of government is the security and welfare of the people. The federal government should not abdicate this responsibility. This is the time to crush the bandits, terrorists and other criminals terrorizing the citizens.